Monday, May 24, 2010
Wake Up call
Well, this past weekend I really had a wake-up call. Our girls had family fun night at school so we went to have fun playing Spongee polo. It was a ton of fun, but it really showed me how out of shape I am. I am not talking about the extra weight, but my lack of stamina. I was almost in tears when I got up Saturday morning because my knees hurt, my lower back was a little sore from bending over. I am not that old to feel like I cannot walk around normally all weekend because my knees were sore. I am determined, not just to lose weight, but my focus is getting into shape so I do not feel decades older than I am. I thought I had been doing well with aerobics once a week and then getting on my exercise bike a couple of times a week, but obviously that it not the solution. I am back to the drawing board........
Friday, March 26, 2010
Questions
As I think more about what I am eating and how I should be getting my rear moving, I seem to have more and more questions.
We do a lot of homemade food now and I guess I really don't know how many calories homemade recipes contain. I would love to find a good website or resource to calculate how many calories and servings are in a meal or at least a dish. Any ideas anyone?
I am working on my schedule and making more time to exercise. I think this will be easier once it is warmer outside so I can just take the kids with me. I have looked into the local fitness center and the schedule lacks a lot! The times they offer classes is when I am dropping kids off at school or picking them up. I think I am on my own with the exercise issue. I am going to talk to a mom at school about walking with me once the weather warms up some!
We do a lot of homemade food now and I guess I really don't know how many calories homemade recipes contain. I would love to find a good website or resource to calculate how many calories and servings are in a meal or at least a dish. Any ideas anyone?
I am working on my schedule and making more time to exercise. I think this will be easier once it is warmer outside so I can just take the kids with me. I have looked into the local fitness center and the schedule lacks a lot! The times they offer classes is when I am dropping kids off at school or picking them up. I think I am on my own with the exercise issue. I am going to talk to a mom at school about walking with me once the weather warms up some!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Finding My Intrinsic Motivation
The other day, I was listening to a radio talk show and the host was discussing motivation. She was sharing about a recent study that took children who like to draw and put them in separate rooms. One group was given crayons and paper and told to draw whatever they wanted. Another group was told they would receive a prize for the best drawing. The final group was told that everyone who participated would be given a prize.
The results were astounding. The children who were told they would receive a prize for their drawings we less interested and put less effort into their pictures than did the children who were just allowed to draw. In essence, it means that they did not need promises of stickers or candy to get them to draw. Rather, just getting to do what they like was motivation enough.
Motivation, or my lack of it, has been at the root of my weight gain. It is SO much easier to eat 10 Girl Scout cookies than get my butt in the kitchen and cut some carrots. Or, heaven forbid I open the package of pre-cut mini carrots. It was easier to go to Jack in the Box for breakfast than to eat a bowl of cereal at home. Maybe my gains would not have been so bad if I had been exercising. Again, sitting on the couch is so much easier than putting on tennis shoes. Watching CSI is much easier than scheduling time to walk.
I just haven't been able to motivate myself to do the things I KNOW how to do. What is that all about? I know what to eat. I know when to eat it. I know what I need to avoid. I know that I need to move more and eat less. Yet, I stop myself every time.
It's almost like I would rather stay fat.
Wait, let me absorb that for a moment. That's pretty big.
Why would I possibly want to stay fat? What is it about being fat that is preferable to being healthy? Am I hiding?
Let's leave that tangent for a moment. I know it is big, but I digress from my post on motivation.
I'm not motivated by promises of books or self-indulging spa days. I can't promise myself things to motivate me toward weight loss. Instead, my motivation has to come from something bigger, something more hard core.
Cue my mom.
This past weekend, we went to visit her. She and I have always had similar body types. If you look at us, we carry all of our weight in the same places. A few years ago, the first time I did Jenny Craig, we did it together. She lost more weight than I did in the beginning. Then, my exercising paid off and I passed her. We both hovered in the 220 range for a while. When I got pregnant, she gave up JC at the same time I did. We both regained weight and it hasn't been pretty.
At her house this weekend, my twins planted flowers with her in the yard. I was in the house working on setting up her new computer. About 20 minutes into their time outside, I heard her call me. She was stuck. She had been working on the ground and when she went up on one knee to get up, she couldn't. She was stuck. She needed me to help her get up. It was at that moment, when I looked at my 59 year old mother unable to get up off the ground by herself that I found my motivation. If I am not careful, I could be in her shoes in just a few years.
My motivation: There is no way I am going to need help to get up off the floor. No way. No how.
My motivation is bigger than manicures or movies. My motivation is that I want to be mobile. I want to participate in life. I want to be outgoing and look forward to doing things outside of my home.
So, what do I do with this now?
I plan.
I plan to walk for at least 25 minutes tomorrow. I have my iPod ready, my tennis shoes ready, my clothes ready.
I can't wait!
The results were astounding. The children who were told they would receive a prize for their drawings we less interested and put less effort into their pictures than did the children who were just allowed to draw. In essence, it means that they did not need promises of stickers or candy to get them to draw. Rather, just getting to do what they like was motivation enough.
Motivation, or my lack of it, has been at the root of my weight gain. It is SO much easier to eat 10 Girl Scout cookies than get my butt in the kitchen and cut some carrots. Or, heaven forbid I open the package of pre-cut mini carrots. It was easier to go to Jack in the Box for breakfast than to eat a bowl of cereal at home. Maybe my gains would not have been so bad if I had been exercising. Again, sitting on the couch is so much easier than putting on tennis shoes. Watching CSI is much easier than scheduling time to walk.
I just haven't been able to motivate myself to do the things I KNOW how to do. What is that all about? I know what to eat. I know when to eat it. I know what I need to avoid. I know that I need to move more and eat less. Yet, I stop myself every time.
It's almost like I would rather stay fat.
Wait, let me absorb that for a moment. That's pretty big.
Why would I possibly want to stay fat? What is it about being fat that is preferable to being healthy? Am I hiding?
Let's leave that tangent for a moment. I know it is big, but I digress from my post on motivation.
I'm not motivated by promises of books or self-indulging spa days. I can't promise myself things to motivate me toward weight loss. Instead, my motivation has to come from something bigger, something more hard core.
Cue my mom.
This past weekend, we went to visit her. She and I have always had similar body types. If you look at us, we carry all of our weight in the same places. A few years ago, the first time I did Jenny Craig, we did it together. She lost more weight than I did in the beginning. Then, my exercising paid off and I passed her. We both hovered in the 220 range for a while. When I got pregnant, she gave up JC at the same time I did. We both regained weight and it hasn't been pretty.
At her house this weekend, my twins planted flowers with her in the yard. I was in the house working on setting up her new computer. About 20 minutes into their time outside, I heard her call me. She was stuck. She had been working on the ground and when she went up on one knee to get up, she couldn't. She was stuck. She needed me to help her get up. It was at that moment, when I looked at my 59 year old mother unable to get up off the ground by herself that I found my motivation. If I am not careful, I could be in her shoes in just a few years.
My motivation: There is no way I am going to need help to get up off the floor. No way. No how.
My motivation is bigger than manicures or movies. My motivation is that I want to be mobile. I want to participate in life. I want to be outgoing and look forward to doing things outside of my home.
So, what do I do with this now?
I plan.
I plan to walk for at least 25 minutes tomorrow. I have my iPod ready, my tennis shoes ready, my clothes ready.
I can't wait!
Kris' Introduction
I am going to follow Jen's lead:
My name: Kris
My mission: lose 40 pounds
The Plan: changing my lifestyle so I can be more active
How did it get this way?: After having the twins, life has been so busy with the four kids in my life and my DH that I do not take time for myself. I work from home, so my time seems to be split between taking care of everyone else's needs, cleaning the house, and working. When I do have a few minutes I just want to relax for a few minutes.
The Big Picture: I am going to try to refocus. I want to ask for more help from the other family members to help pick up the work load so I can have some time to regroup and some time to focus on my fitness.
Short term goals:
1. Drink more water during the day.
2. At least do my situps 5 times a week.
3. Keep going to the weekly aerobics class.
4. Try to get to bed at a decent time so I can get up early 3 times a week to get on my exercise bike.
Longer term goals:
My first longer term goal right now is to lose about 12 pounds by the first week of May 2010.
My name: Kris
My mission: lose 40 pounds
The Plan: changing my lifestyle so I can be more active
How did it get this way?: After having the twins, life has been so busy with the four kids in my life and my DH that I do not take time for myself. I work from home, so my time seems to be split between taking care of everyone else's needs, cleaning the house, and working. When I do have a few minutes I just want to relax for a few minutes.
The Big Picture: I am going to try to refocus. I want to ask for more help from the other family members to help pick up the work load so I can have some time to regroup and some time to focus on my fitness.
Short term goals:
1. Drink more water during the day.
2. At least do my situps 5 times a week.
3. Keep going to the weekly aerobics class.
4. Try to get to bed at a decent time so I can get up early 3 times a week to get on my exercise bike.
Longer term goals:
My first longer term goal right now is to lose about 12 pounds by the first week of May 2010.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Meet Jen - On a Mission to Lose Weight
My name: Jen
My mission: lose 150 lbs (not a typo)
The Plan: Jenny Craig, walking, and a serious lifestyle change
How did it get this way?:
I've been thinking a lot about why I eat the way I do. Some of it is from laziness. Some of it is from depression. And some of it, I attribute to the biggest message I got about food as I was growing up:
YOU HAVE TO FINISH EVERYTHING ON YOUR PLATE!
I have vivid memories of my aunt making us sit at the dinner table and telling us to finish everything or else we could not get up. To this day, it is difficult for me to leave a plate with any food on it. Jenny Craig has undone some of this, but not all.
Today, I eat when I am depressed. I eat when I want to "treat" myself (read: am depressed). I eat to make me feel better (read: am depressed). I eat because the food is there. Seriously, this is NOT a good plan.
The Big Picture:
For now, I am working on a new mantra. Before my twins were born, it was "Nothing will taste as good as a baby will feel in my arms." Now, I need something to motivate me now that I have my babies.
My mission: lose 150 lbs (not a typo)
The Plan: Jenny Craig, walking, and a serious lifestyle change
How did it get this way?:
I've been thinking a lot about why I eat the way I do. Some of it is from laziness. Some of it is from depression. And some of it, I attribute to the biggest message I got about food as I was growing up:
YOU HAVE TO FINISH EVERYTHING ON YOUR PLATE!
I have vivid memories of my aunt making us sit at the dinner table and telling us to finish everything or else we could not get up. To this day, it is difficult for me to leave a plate with any food on it. Jenny Craig has undone some of this, but not all.
Today, I eat when I am depressed. I eat when I want to "treat" myself (read: am depressed). I eat to make me feel better (read: am depressed). I eat because the food is there. Seriously, this is NOT a good plan.
The Big Picture:
For now, I am working on a new mantra. Before my twins were born, it was "Nothing will taste as good as a baby will feel in my arms." Now, I need something to motivate me now that I have my babies.
One of my friends suggested these to me a while ago and I lost sight of them. I think it is very insightful and I think it may be what I am looking for:
1. When the babies look back at pictures of life as a new family, I want them to see the glow I feel / have with them now (before they totally wear me out). I really think its hard to see that with all this weight hanging around.
2. LOOOOOOONG term, I want to be the kind of Grandparent who
- is actually alive
- can get down on the floor and play
- is healthy and spirited, so that I can steal the grandbabies for a weekend without worry. I know it seems silly to think of that now, but really to do this, its got to be a lifelong change in mentality
3. I want my husband to be attracted to me. I know he doesn't care what weight I am. I know that. But I would like to inspire a little lust once in a while. 4. I want to look as I feel, which is young and joyful and powerful. 5. I want to be a role model for my kids. A picture of health, self discipline, respect, achievement, and fun. All things that I have to be healthy to exemplify. All of these are good reasons for wanting to be thinner. I think I will write them out on a post card and read them the next time I reach for chocolate.
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